“That’s why Achieving defense readiness is not a luxury – it is a necessity. Defense investments are necessary not only to protect us and increase our geopolitical influence. They can also boost economic competitiveness, innovation, job creation and territorial cohesion“, said António Costa. Strengthening defense is, he considers, “the best way to protect our democracies”.
Socialist António Costa also launched political barbs. “The right-wing parties argue that we must choose between spending on defense or our welfare state. This It is a serious and very dangerous mistake. This undermines citizens’ support for the defense efforts we need.” For Costa, “We don’t need to sacrifice the welfare state”.
For the President of the European Council, security does not only depend on investments in defense, but above all “the ability to promote multilateralism and the rules-based international orderand our ability to develop friendships around the world through trade and development aid.”
The former general secretary of the Portuguese Socialist Party also defended his political family, which he considers to have been “decisive in the construction of our social welfare state”.
He defended the improvement of wages and working conditions, and said that “it’s time to restore balance and ensure that wealth is shared fairly”.
Furthermore, he defended housing as “a basic right, not a commodity for speculators”. He says that the housing crisis affects families across Europe, the poorest and the middle class, and that therefore affordable housing should be a European priority.
“Next week, for the first time, we will discuss housing at leaders’ level in the European Council. We need to openly discuss the tools available at European level to support our mayors, our regional leaders and national efforts to resolve housing issues,” he stressed.
“I’m not necessarily talking about additional funds. But I believe we can reduce bureaucracy in areas such as licensing”he added.